Hydraulic valve



c. w. LARNER. HYDRAULlC VALVE. APPLICATION FILED-MAIL 5, 19 14.

Patented Aug.- 22, 1916.

2- SHEETS-SHEET c. w. LARNER.

HYDRAULIC VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. m4. 1 1 95,237 Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. W .2.

w w zg ll l I ll

gww/wtoz wiltweooeo Uaflskif Z euwelr cnEsrEza w.

LARNER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

HYDRAULIC VALVE.

. To all whom it may concern:

'fication.

Be it known that I, CHESTER W. LARNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydraulic Valves, ofwhich the following is a speci- I Hydraulic or gate valves employed forexample to control the supply of water from a forebay or pond to apower-house for use inf operating turbines are usuall of ponderous form,are submerged, an require elaborate mechanism for operating them. p

The object of this invention is to simplify the, construction and modeof operation of such valves, and generally stated the inventioncontemplates a valve operating on the the accompanying drawing,

principle of flotation. With this and other objects in view, the nature,characteristic features and scope of the invention will more readily beunderstood from the following description taken in connection withforming a part hereof,vwherein Figure 1 illustrates in central verticalsection and elevation a gate-house installation embodying features of myinvention. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modification. Referring to-Fig. 1, the numeral 5 designates a penstock or conduit which opensvertically into a forebay or pond 6. The gate-house 7 is of generallycircular form, the water being admitted around the circumference andflowing to the valve between the piers '8, the number of which may vary.

The valve consists of a hollow plug or cone-shape shell or body 9equipped with a central bore or passage by a hollow stem 10 rangingupwardly. A guide or roller path 26 which cooperates with the stem actsto center the valve and v to prevent it from tipping. As a further meansto prevent tipping of the valve, lugs 11 are provided carrying rollers12 which run on the piers 8 and thus serve to guide the valveandmaintainit in a true vertical position in the valve-way formed bysaid piers. The hollow stem 10 is useful for the accommodation ofoperating mechanism and as a means of access to the interior- I of thevalve when it is submerged. The

supplyand discharge of water to and from thereof until by opening thedrain-valve which is prolonged Specification of Letters Patent. PatentedAug, 22 19116, Application filed March 5, 1914. Serial No. 822,565., r l

the valve shell are controlled by a drainvalve 13 suitably seated belowthe passages 14:, and whereof the atively connected with a suitableactuatingdevice, for example the motor 16;

When the valve is closed, that is to say when the drain-valve 13 isseated, it is full of water and resting of its own weight on seat 17embedded in the foundation of the gate-house.- water must be dischargedfrom the'interior the displacement is sufiicient to float the weight ofthe valve. To efl'ect this it is important that the conduit or penunderthe as stock 5' shall be full of water salne'head as in the forebay.This may be accomplished by means of a bypass 18 having an independentgate (not shown). Obviously in order to flood the conduit via theby-pass it is of course necessary that the re conduit be provided with astop-valve such as the conventionally illustrated valve 19 to I preventthe 'water from flowing out of the conduit as fast as it enters. This,however, is the ordinary condition construction of a water plant such asthis valve is particularly adapted to. The conduit 5 conveys the waterto the power-house whence it is distributed to the turbines and eachturbine is equipped with its own valve. 85

The floating of the valve'may be accomplished in three ways, viz:

(a) If'the penstock or conduitis drained sufiiciently enough water maybe discharged 13. The latter and the passages 14 leading to it throughthe hollow stem are located at such an elevation as to drain onlyenoughwater to* float the valve the proper distance. When a sufiicientquantity of water has been displaced, the drain-valve is closed and thepenstock is flooded in the manner aforementioned. The rising water inthe penstock causes the valveto float ofl its seat to a certainpredetermined level depending 100 upon the amount of displacementprovided. When the valve is floated to the proper position, thelugs 11carrying the guide rollers are above the automatic latches 20 thefunction of which is to prevent the valve 105 from sinking in the eventof leakage;

(b) A sufficient quantity of water may be discharged from the valve whenin its closed position by means of air pressure from a compressor 21located in the gate-house.

spindle 15 is oper- In order to raise the valve,

met with in the With this method it is necessary of course to seal thetop end of the hollow stem, as at 25. pipe 22 will then "displace waterthrough channel 23. If the penstock is flooded in the manner previouslydescribed, the valve will float as soon as the necessary quantity ofwater has been discharged from the valve. The bend 24 in channel 23 islocated valve is the same no matter what method is used to raise it. Itconsists simply of opening the drain-valve 13. when the valve isfloating, admitting water to the interior of the valve and displacingair through the hollow stem. The valve thereupon sinks of its own weightand rests on its seat.

low for the conical base serves to direct the flow into the conduit. I

In the modification, Fig. 2, I have shown a valve system for use with agreater depth of water than is represented in the first example. Thevalve-body consists of a shell -27 that is open at the bottom and whichcooperates with a valve-seat '28. Extending upwardly from the valve andcommunicating directly with the open bottom thereof is a hollow stem 29closed at'the top and which cooperates with a roller path 30 whereby thevalve is centered and prevented from tipping. As in Fig. 1, thevalve-body may be equipped with rollers 31 which track the piers 8. At32 is represented a suitable air pump or compressor, and 32 represents ahose or other suitable flexible connection intermediate the pump and thevalve-stem for conveying air tothe latter. It is evident that the valvemay be floated by supplying air thereto in the'manner indicated. Thevalve body 27 is a substantially bell shape structure, that is to say ithas a flaring open bottom, and constitutes. with its complementalcommunicating hollow stem a chambered 7 part or float adapted for thefree ingress and egress of water. Obviously no drain valve is necessarybecause of this structure and arrangement. It followsthat when air.

is pumped into the stem it acts upon the column of water therein andunseats the valve. Upon releasing the air pressure the .1

water is free to rise in the stem and reduce the buoyancy of the valvewhich will thereupon gravitate to its seat. The air pressure is relievedin any suitable way, but the'practice is to use a single flexibleconnection 32' for both supplying and discharging.

Air pressure introduced through A. valve such as describedisparticularly useful when the water in the forebay is shale avalve-seat, a

Having described the'nature and objects of the invention, I claim:

1. A valve and its seat, said valve consisting of a buoyant shelladapted to the seat and having an upwardly directed communicating hollowstem closed at its'top, and means operatively connected with the stemfor supplying it with fluid pressure.

2. A valve and its seat, said valve consisting of a buoyant shelladapted to the seat and having an upwardly directed communieating hollowstem closed at its top, means operatively connected with the stem forsupplying it with fluid pressure, and a valveway including means forengaging theshell to hold it away from its seat in the event of leakageof pressure.

3. The combination of a forebay, a pen I stock having a valve-seat, avalve adapted to beseated in response to. the applicationof internalweight or pressure and to be unseated upon the removal of said weight,said valve consisting of a shell adapted to the seat and having acommunicating upwardly directed hollow stem which is sealed at the top,and means operatively connected with the stem for supplying or relievingpressure.

"4. The combination of a forebay, a penstock having a valve seat, avalve adapted to be seated in response to the application of internalweight or pressure and to be unseated upon the removal of said weight,said valve consisting of a shell adapted to the seat and havingacommunicating upwardly directed hollow stem which is sealed at its top,a gate house having means cooperating -with the stem for centering thevalve, and

fluid connections operatively disposed with respect to said stem. 5. Thecombination of a forebay, a penstock opening-vertically therein andhaving communicating with the chambered 1 part thereof, and a flexibleconnection for supply ing pressure to the stem.

6. The'combination of a forebay, a pen-' stock opening verticallytherein and having a valve-seat, ,a gate house equipped with avalve-way, a valve adapted to saidseatand valve-way and consisting of achambered float open on the penstock side and equipped with a verticallyextending hollow stem, 2. guide for the same, and means for supplyinpressure to the float through the stem.

5.. The combination of a forebay, a penstock opening vertically thereinandhaving ate house equipped with a valve-way, a va ve adapted to saidseat and valve-way. and consisting of a chambered float open on thepenstock side and equipped a valve-seat, a gate house having .avalvewith an upwardly directed communicating hollow stem, a guide forthe same, and a guide for. the'float including latches for holding thefloat in raised position.

8. The combination of a forebay, a penstock having a valve seat, a valveadapted to be seated 1n response to the application internally thereofof weight or pressure and to be unseated upon the removal of saidweight, said valve consisting of a shell adapted to the seat and open onthe penstock side and having an upwardly directed hollow stem, and agate house having separate ways with roller paths for the valve and itsstem.

9. The combination of a forebay, a penstock having a valve-seat, a valveadapted to be seated in response to the application internally thereofof weight or pressure and to be unseated upon the removal of saidWeight, said valve consisting of a basal float part adapted to said seatand having a oentral upwardly extending hollow stem, fluid pressureconnections operatively disposed With respect to the stem, ent drainvalve for the valve.

10. The combination'of a forebay, a penstock having a valve-seat, a gatehouse having a valve-way, a valve in said valve way movable verticallywith relation to said seat and consisting of a centering hollow stemclosed at its top and terminating in a float adapted to said seat, anair compressor, and and a flexible connection intermediate the same andsaid stem.

In testimony whereof I affix in presence of two witnesses.

CHESTER W. LARNER.

my signature Witnesses:

PAUL H. DoUGLAs, J. FRANK RocERs.

and an independ-v I

